I took off the rocker cover to investigate some upper engine noise. I found the spring for the cam chain tensioner is faulty, loose or broken. I don't want to continue until I get some expert help. Can I replace the spring without taking the head off? thanks for any advice.

There's a lot of advice as to which grips will not play nicely with the XRL's wimpy juice-box -- what heated grips are the most XRL-friendly? Also, which is the most XRL-friendly way to tap into juice for a vest and maybe pants so that I can ride through DC's relatively mild Winter? Thanks in advance, kids. I am going to man up and keep riding!

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The heated grips at Rocky Mountain ATV/MC seem to be a hot item!
Can't answer the other question but be careful running all that. The battery can't keep up with all that running on high. I seem to remember an inmate running gloves on high and a vest on low and having success but not pants too. I think that will be too much.

I took off the rocker cover to investigate some upper engine noise. I found the spring for the cam chain tensioner is faulty, loose or broken. I don't want to continue until I get some expert help. Can I replace the spring without taking the head off? thanks for any advice.

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Kind of a tapping noise? I may have the same problem. I'll be pulling mine apart in the next week or two to take a peek inside.

Yep, that's what they are and I REALLY like them on the street. Great grip in all kinds of weather and they don't do anything crazy like cause wobble or head shake at 70+ MPH. They went on really easy and without a tube hold air pretty well. I'll buy another set when these wear out.

-Barron

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Thanks! I have an extra set of wheels I'll be putting those on. Did you go with the 120 or 140 on the rear? I could not find them in 130/18.

I just got back from attempting to disassemble the cam chain tensioner and as soon as I loosened the allen head bolt that retains the shaft the rocker fits on the rocker snapped back to being under tension. It is now where the unit is supposed to be. Can I consider it fixed so go ahead and put the engine back together?

I fabbed up my own skid plate out of AL Plate and right now it has no venting holes in it. What do you guys think, drill some ventilation into it or leave it solid? I don't want to overheat (not a problem right now :) but I don't want it to become a catch all for mud and trail debris
either.

Yes I already tested it out and it works great, and I know I need a case saver.

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Good job! Looks great. I would drill an oil drain hole in it. If you are careful when you remove the drain plug, you can drain your oil without making a mess. I made a helluva mess with mine at first, but Brian got my thinking straight As far as aesthetics... I would give it hell with a scotchbrite pad and call it a day.

I think you are ok and it won't over heat. Most of where it needs to be cooled is in the cylinder anyways. If you really feel as though you need to put holes in it. I'd drill a bunch of smaller ones in the flange areas. Nothing in the direct front or bottom of it. Half inch holes should be sufficient. Big enough for good air yet small enough so most things wont get thru. Don't bother drilling an oil hole on the bottom. Those things never work and always make a mess. Just take the plate off for an oil change.

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F Dave......i still can`t understand why you think removing the skidplate is necessary to do an oil change:huh

I remove the engine drain bolt.......pull it out just enough so it drains straight down into my pan.........then when the flow slows down i remove the bolt completely away from the oil stream.......then reinsert when done..

I remove 2 bolts from the oil filter housing.......loosen the third a turn.......lean the bike over against my leg and pull the third bolt out and let the oil filter cover and filter drop into a rag in my right hand and all the oil in the filter housing drains straight into the oil pan........when it`s drained i stand the bike up quickly onto the side stand....i get very little if any drips.....easily wiped clean with a rag.....

Pulling the skidplate off is a pain in the freekin arse,i`m lazy......and this works............

I just got back from attempting to disassemble the cam chain tensioner and as soon as I loosened the allen head bolt that retains the shaft the rocker fits on the rocker snapped back to being under tension. It is now where the unit is supposed to be. Can I consider it fixed so go ahead and put the engine back together?

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The question is how did the tensioner get at the relaxed position. It has a one way clutch in it and it should always be applying pressure on the chain guide. Not the other way round.

Direct wire from the battery with a fuse in it to a 12V relay. The relay is turned on and off via your key switch. Just tap into any positive wire such as the headlight power to activate the relay.

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be careful where you tap into the headlight power...I hooked my O2 sensor to my headlight power then one day I'm out riding and hit my high beams and poof...my O2 sensor stopped working...WTF?, hit the switch back to low beams and the O2 sensor comes back on...well...crap...one more thing to modify...

About $30 bucks ........they are stainless steel and poly.....stick them in a saddle bag and forget about them till needed.......put them away wet no problem, those others you posted would be all rusted and corroded.[/QUOTE]

Hey Bomber, that pulley in the camo bag is really slick. Where did you find this? I want one.

Taco, I cut, bent, and fit the plates, then just tacked it together and had one of the pro welders that I work with weld it out. I can weld steel passably well, but I make messes when I play with aluminum. I need more practice I guess, or more likely I'll just keep being lazy and let the guys that do it all day every day help me

Good job! Looks great. I would drill an oil drain hole in it. If you are careful when you remove the drain plug, you can drain your oil without making a mess. I made a helluva mess with mine at first, but Brian got my thinking straight As far as aesthetics... I would give it hell with a scotchbrite pad and call it a day.

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Wayne, Thanks, I think I'll go the drain hole route and leave the rest intact. I put this on about 3 weeks ago and wanted to test it out a little first before I spent time making it look pretty, which it won't stay very long anyways. I had planned to buff it with the DA and an abrasive pad once I was done cutting on it.

About $30 bucks ........they are stainless steel and poly.....stick them in a saddle bag and forget about them till needed.......put them away wet no problem, those others you posted would be all rusted and corroded.

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Hey Bomber, that pulley in the camo bag is really slick. Where did you find this? I want one.

F Dave......i still can`t understand why you think removing the skidplate is necessary to do an oil change:huh

I remove the engine drain bolt.......pull it out just enough so it drains straight down into my pan.........then when the flow slows down i remove the bolt completely away from the oil stream.......then reinsert when done..

I remove 2 bolts from the oil filter housing.......loosen the third a turn.......lean the bike over against my leg and pull the third bolt out and let the oil filter cover and filter drop into a rag in my right hand and all the oil in the filter housing drains straight into the oil pan........when it`s drained i stand the bike up quickly onto the side stand....i get very little if any drips.....easily wiped clean with a rag.....

Pulling the skidplate off is a pain in the freekin arse,i`m lazy......and this works............

smarten up.....

B

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How on God's green earth are you able to drain it from the main lug without getting it all over the place. If you remove the bolt slightly and leave it there, it sprays all over the place. I never once was able to do it without it getting all over the skid plate. Ok, well ALL OVER is an overstatement. It would always end up on the skid plate, a lot more than I would like. When I finally took the skid plate off.... it was an oily, gunky mess. It was so annoying that with the new skid plate I got for my other bike, I didn't care that it didn't have an oil hole. This skid plate is the best protection ever.

The question is how did the tensioner get at the relaxed position. It has a one way clutch in it and it should always be applying pressure on the chain guide. Not the other way round.

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Hey Steve thanks for your help. Good question.. could it be possible I put this together backwards? When I took the cover off I found the cam sprocket could be moved back and forth like when the tensioner is locked in the retracted position during the assembly process. The tensioner arm was pushing on the chain guide but it had no real pressure, When I rotated the cam sprocket clockwise to tighten the chain on the tensioner side this pushed the tensioner out of the way. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

Then I loosened the allen bolt and it snapped back with the correct spring pressure. Now the chain is tight and the cam sprocket cannot be rotated. I put a screwdriver on it to force the tensioner in the retracted position and it moved back a quarter inch but has good pressure on the chain guide. Should I not be able to move it back any?<o></o>
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